Boris Becker caught out on Twitter with Nobel gaffe

Boris Becker has found himself the target of Twitter ridicule after he tweeted
a post praising Angela Merkel for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, apparently
unaware that it the EU that scooped the award.

The German three-time Wimbledon champion triggered the Twitter storm by writing in rather ungrammatical German: "Great admirer of Angela Merkel! I am very proud and becoming a patriot as she won the Nobel Peace Prize!!!" When his error was pointed out to him the 45-year old generated even more internet attention by claiming the EU and the German chancellor were pretty much one of the same.

"I will become a patriot on the day that @Becker-Boris has his citizenship revoked for sheer unbelievable idiocy," said one outraged tweeter.

"Boris. Have translated your 'patriot-tweet' and posted it on Chinese internet. Some wonder if you were drunk," wrote another, giving an indication of the international coverage the tweet had received.

Others rounded on the tennis star for his talk of patriotism when he has spurned Germany for life as a tax exile in Switzerland.

"Boris, if you are so patriotic why do you pay your taxes in Switzerland?" asked one, while another wrote "Boris, be a real patriot. Come home and pay tax."

In response, Mr Becker came out fighting, firing off tweets knocking his detractors in a manner reflective of the aggressive style that made him so successful as a tennis player.

"Bare jealousy, resentment, and schadenfreude coming out of my mobile," tweeted the tennis star. "Hahaha.. in London they say 'get a life'..." he added later. For some of his critics, he teased, "patriotism was just a word in a dictionary."

Despite being an enthusiastic user of Twitter with 142,126 followers, it appears Mr Becker was caught off guard by the fervent reaction to his tweet.

"It's amazing how people react to my quick and often spontaneous tweets," he told the German press. "The reaction shows that Twitter is a good means of communication for me. I can get a lot of friends and fans but also enemies and the envious at the same time."